Belgian Trippel?

[bc23]

Anyone with any experience with a Belgian Trippel?

It's my second batch, and I'm very excited about this one!

I brewed it on Sunday, and I'm planning on checking the gravity on Saturday. My question is how long should I plan on leaving it in primary, secondary, and then to bottle condition. My guess is 1 week, 2-4 weeks, and then another 2-4.

Anyone with any thoughts on this, or just general thoughts on the Trippel?

Thanks!

 

[sirsloop]

How big is it? I'd do 30 days primary, bottle it, and age for 6 months.

 

[cubbies]

Yeah, most likely you are looking at a long age time. First of all, it may not even reach final gravity in a week, and even after it reaches final gravity, you are probably going to want to leave it on the yeast for at least another week for them to clean things up. So I would say a 2 week minimum on primary. Then, secondary is kind of up to you. This beer is going to need a LONG time to reach it's peak, probably at least two months. If you want to age in bottles/keg, or in secondary is up to you. You could easily do 2 weeks in secondary to get the beer clear and then bottle/keg it for 6 weeks, or secondary for a month and then bottle/keg for two weeks (this is most likely what I would do).

So to summarize, what I would do is 2-4-2...and it will most likely continue to get better for months on end.

 

[john from dc]

did you use a liquid belgian yeast? my batch with wyeast belgian abbey ale took longer than a week (12 days) to ferment.

a week may be in the ballpark for active fermentation, but the only way to tell is to check the gravity on several successive days. next time, to be on the safe side, i'm going to wait until the hydrometer stays at my final gravity for three days in a row. then wait a few days more, maybe a week would be better.

 

[TexLaw]

I agree with the others. Let the primary fermentation take its course, and then leave it in there for at least another week. Did you work up a good sized starter, too. Trippels are big beers and need a big starter. You can get by without it, but it will take more time, as well.

Don't get too antsy here. Let the beer tell you when it is ready.


TL

 

[sirsloop]

Keep in mind, belgian yeast is STUBBORN!!! A nice english yeast falls right out of the brew in 10 days and forms a perfect cake. I guarantee that after 30 days a big belgian will still look cloudy as heck from all the yeast in suspension. I had to secondary my Pistoles because it looked like chocolate milk after 30 days in primary. I'm hoping after another 30 days in secondary and a crash cool it will clear up a little. Big beers just take a lot of time and patience. Just let it go....and go.... and go... then come fall you will be able to enjoy a fantastic beverage!

 

[wizardofza]

I just did a Tripel this past Saturday. I pitched a pretty good starter since the OG was 1.090. The thing is still bubbling away on my blowoff.

I planned on leaving it in my primary for three-four weeks then letting it sit in my secondary for about a month. The finally rack it to my keg.

 

[bc23]

Thanks for all the advice folks - I'm obviously a noob, and had no idea that this one would take so long! I'll just relax, leave it in the primary for another 2-3 weeks, rack to my secondary for a month, then bottle.

Cheers y'all, and thanks again!